


Learning To Fly

by sullacat



Series: Taking Chances [4]
Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-20
Updated: 2011-06-20
Packaged: 2017-10-20 14:18:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/213668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sullacat/pseuds/sullacat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim's not leaving Earth without everything and everyone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Learning To Fly

**Author's Note:**

> For my Schmoop Bingo card - 'cloud watching'. These characters are not mine, no infringement intended.

Finally, it was time to get going. Five year mission. Explore strange new worlds. New life and new civilizations.

To go... _boldly_. Jim could do that. It wasn't a confidence issue - he was smart, yeah, he knew that. But this was Starfleet - everyone here was a freaking genius in their field, so to stand out you _had_ to be bold. Inspiring.

Unafraid.

That didn't mean that there weren't butterflies in his stomach as he stepped off the shuttle onto the Earth Spacedock two hundred miles above the Earth. "Good morning, Captain," he heard from everyone he saw despite his not being in uniform. Not the first time he'd been called that - but now, _now_ , this was his ship. He, Jim Kirk, was the captain of that beautiful lady tethered to the main dock and he was taking her into space today.

Stepping on board the _Enterprise_ that morning was the most exhilarating experience of his life. He'd been on several times in the last few weeks, getting moved in, meetings, checking out the various departments and making sure that everything was ready to go. But this was different. Today the ship was bustling full with life and people, everyone excited and energetic.

Today, in just a few hours, they'd be taking off and not coming back.

First place he headed was the bridge, of course, nearly empty and silent until the first shift began arriving in a few hours. After a moment the two engineers working on one of the systems left and he was alone on the bridge of his lady. Looking around at the different stations, he lovingly touched all the panels, picturing the people who would be sitting there for each shift. Several hundred people would be joining him on this five-year mission, with more to come as the fleet, still getting over the _Narada_ attack, leveled out its personnel.

He'd told Bones he wanted to learn everyone's name. Bones thought that was ambitious and told him so. Then Jim tossed a pillow at his head, which led to...

Jim smirked to himself as he slowly sat down in the captain's chair. Well, led to a night of touching and hunger and passion. There had been a lot of nights like that since they'd become a _'them'_ , albeit a low-key and private 'them'. No sense getting tongues wagging before they even got up in the air, both of them agreed. "Bridge to Sickbay," he called, pressing the audio speaker attached to his chair. "Is McCoy in there?"

It was a second before a female voice answered. "No, Captain," she answered, Jim smirking that his voice was that recognizable so soon. "We haven't seen him yet today."

That made Jim frown... he hadn't seen Bones since last night, when he'd left after an extended make-out session on Jim's bed. "Need to make it an early night," Bones had told him, his voice breathless and his clothing crumpled and askew, "and that ain't gonna happen if I stay here." Jim hated to admit the truth in that, but understood, needing a good night's sleep as well.

So to hear that Bones hadn't made it on board yet... "Thanks," he replied, then headed to the nearest computer terminal. _Leonard McCoy is not on board the Enterprise. Leonard McCoy is not on board Earth Spacedock_. At this point Jim started wondering - had something happened? They were leaving in five hours- no, now it was four hours and twenty-three minutes.

Shit.

According to the computer, Bones hadn't left the planet. He didn't seem to be answering his communication device, and Jim wondered again, if something was wrong. He hadn't changed his mind, Jim knew this inside. He'd helped Bones finish bringing the last of his things on board just yesterday. _What could be going on?_

The lift opened, and Uhura walked onto the bridge, several hours early, like him. _Kindred spirit_ , he thought, or perhaps just an early bird.

"Captain," she said with that small smirk she saved for him, looking calm and poised as always, yet a familiar look of anticipation was in her eyes as they darted around the shiny new bridge and rested on her station. "Is everything all right?" she asked at the worried look on his face.

Jim nodded, then hesitated. "I, um... I think I left something down stairs," he said slowly, their term for 'back on Earth'.

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Men. You want me to find someone to go get it for you?" she asked, reaching for her ear piece.

"No," he answered, standing and walking toward the lift, a little grin on his face. "I probably should go get it myself."

"Captain, we've got four hours and -"

He nodded, cutting her off. "I'll be right back. Don't leave without me," he admonished her, laughing as she jokingly rolled her eyes at him, a facial gesture he hoped to see more of in the next few years.

A few minutes later and Jim was transported down to the surface, trying not to notice the surprised looks of all the people queued up in line heading 'upstairs', to space dock and the ship. Bones still wasn't answering his comm device, but it was on him, and he'd been located. _Golden Gate Park_. Jim shook his head again at the offers by base personnel to go have him picked up.

Strange as all this was, Jim trusted Bones knew what he was doing.

He did manage to commandeer a vehicle (he was captain, after all) to go fetch his doctor himself. Driving through the familiar streets, he squinted in the bright light as he drove past landmarks and buildings of a city that had meant a lot to him these last three years. First place he felt like he _belonged_. Found people who believed in him. Found someone to love.

And he wasn't about to leave his Chief Medical Officer behind, he thought to himself as he pulled into the park. There were a few spots the two of them usually frequented, and Jim was unsurprised to spot Bones' silhouette sitting halfway down a hill in the middle of a patch of grass, staring out at the water and narrowly avoiding being hit by a group of kids chasing a flying ball whizzing past them. He parked and headed toward the lone figure in science blues, with one glance back down at the chronometer on his watch.

He picked up a pebble on the path, tossing it at Bones' shoulder as he approached. When the doctor turned around, frowning to see what hit him, he looked astonished to see Jim standing there. "Why aren't you on board?"

"I could ask you the same question," Jim replied, sitting down next to Bones, taking in the view of the bridge and the Pacific. "What's up?" he asked, second-guessing himself now that he could see the serious look on Bones' face. Bones... he couldn't be changing his mind... could he?

One hand reached for another, and soon their fingers were linked. "I dunno," Bones answered with a quiet sigh. "Just... wasn't ready yet, to go up. Wanted one last look around the old place."

"We're coming back," Jim told him, laughing a little at Bones' worried expression. "We won't be gone forever." Not that Jim would have minded that much. There wasn't much for him here on this planet. His whole life was up there, waiting to begin.

The doctor nodded, shrugged. "I know," he said, "just... look at that sky." Jim's eyes looked up, squinting again in the bright light. It was a fine sky, blue with big, puffy white clouds moving slowly inland from the ocean. "We won't see that for a while."

Jim's eyes turned away from the clouds to watch Bones' face as he looked up at the clouds. It was a marked difference between the two of them- Jim tended to look forward to the mission, wondering what their new adventures would be, where life would take him next while Bones, he was already missing what they were leaving behind.

When they looked up at the sky, they saw completely different things.

They stayed another thirty minutes, looking at the clouds before Jim started to get fidgety. "We gotta get going," he nudged at Bones, who nodded back.

"I'm ready." Jim didn't know who or what Bones was saying goodbye to, but that's what it felt like, watching his friend look around, as if trying to memorize everything.

"We'll be back," Jim reminded him, as they walked to the car.

"I don't doubt that," Bones said, getting in and closing the door. But he didn't say anything else as they drove back to the fleet yards, quiet as they left the car in one of the lots and made their way toward the transporters.

Jim stopped them just as they got to the building, pausing to look down again at his chronometer, then turned them in another direction. "This way."

"Jim," Bones told him, following as Jim headed outside one of the back doors, toward the shuttles, then stopped. "We don't have time, Jim. It's okay."

"Nah, got plenty of time," Jim lied. "I want to see some more clouds." _And you're terrified of transporters._

Jim managed to harangue a shuttle (it was good being captain) provided he didn't mind it being full of supplies for the space dock. Pointing to the front seat, he indicated Bones should sit there. "Buckle up," he told him, with a clap on the shoulder. "I'll get us there in a few minutes." Then they were up, Jim chatting quietly the whole time, convincing Bones to help him by asking for instrument readings, anything to get his mind off the fact that they were airborne. As they approached the stratum of clouds Jim pointed out the view screen. "Look at them from here."

From this view, the clouds were three-dimensional shapes and looked completely different, thick and substantial. Not at all like what they looked like from the ground.

"This is how I liked them best," he told Bones, eyes darting between the instrument panel and the clouds. "When I was little, my mom used to take me up in a shuttle when she could, let me look at the sky and the clouds. I liked the way the farms looked like little squares when I looked down. They seemed more real to me up here, like I could reach out and touch them." A good memory from his childhood; there were one or two in there.

From here, the clouds spread out before the California coast like a blanket, the coastline disappearing beneath a thick layer of fluff. Bones' eyes seemed to be looking far off into the distance. "What do you see?" Jim asked, unbuckling himself and turning toward Bones in the chair next to him.

"Bunny rabbit," he replied seriously, then laughed at himself. "Wait... now it a dragon."

"Almost the same thing," Jim murmured, leaning in for a kiss. How could he have gone so long today without this, Jim wondered, moving closer to Bones, still buckled in. Nipping at the soft skin of his neck, he felt Bones rumble in contentment, playing with the strands of his hair.

"Shouldn't you be drivin' this thing?" Bones murmured against his lips between kisses, and Jim smiled.

"Probably." One more soft kiss before heading back to his seat, and buckled himself back in. "You ready for this?" he asked Bones, curious what the doctor would say.

"I am," Bones answered, as they lifted out of the Earth's atmosphere into low Earth orbit, the sky changing from blue to black, and suddenly there were stars everywhere. "For all of it," he added, turning to Jim with a warm smile.

Arriving at space dock, Jim landed the shuttle efficiently and the two of them headed quickly toward the main dock and the _Enterprise_.

"Captain on board," an ensign called out as Jim stepped across the threshold that separated space dock from his ship. Both men remained silent, but in a comfortable way. Excited. Nervous. Catching each other's eyes as they walked, as if to say 'Can you believe we're here?'.

They reached a fork in the corridors. "I'd better head to Sickbay, make sure they haven't elected a new leader in my absence," Bones joked, color coming back to his face now that he was on (relatively) solid ground.

But Jim stopped him, one hand on his shoulder. "Bridge first. I want you up there with me when we take off, okay?"

Bones looked like he was going to put up a fight, then smiled, that big one he only pulled out for special occasions. "Okay, Jim," he nodded in understanding, then frowned, touching Jim's black undershirt. "You gonna finish getting dressed?" he grinned.

"Was on my way, when I got waylaid," Jim snorted, squeezing the shoulder under his hand. "Go on, I'll be up there in a minute." Bones turned to head toward the turbo lift when Jim called his name. "Bones."

Bones turned, looking back at Jim. "Captain?" he said with a little grin.

Jim laughed at that. "We made it," he said in a strangely low voice, just loud enough for Bones to hear. The doctor looked back at him, giving him that proud look again that Jim wouldn't admit he needed, but he did. "See you in a few minutes."

With that, Jim headed down the hall, toward the captain's quarters. Grabbing a gold command uniform shirt from his closet, he tugged it over his head and made his way toward the bridge, smoothing out the wrinkles as he walked.

Jim paused before the doors slid open, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. A million thoughts crossed his mind as he waited in the half-second it took for the computer to recognize him and open the door to let him onto the bridge. He thought about his father, George - the first Captain Kirk, responsible for him being here today. He thought about his mother, wondering what she would have thought about all this, had she lived to see it. Pike, still recuperating planetside. All the friends he'd lost when the _Narada_ destroyed their ships.

Spock, who had taken another path, despite Jim's request to join him on their mission.

But on the other side of the door were other people, good people, friends with whom he had shared one adventure already, who he'd vowed to protect. People who now he trusted with his life... and one person he had grown to love.

Any and all nerves dissolved as he stepped onto the bridge, instantly met with the sights and sounds of his crew. _His crew._

"Thrusters and impulse engines at your command, sir."

"Weapons systems and shields on standby."

It was hard not to smile at the men sitting at Chekov and Sulu, so obviously ready and excited for their mission, so Jim didn't try.

"Dock control reports ready, Captain," Uhura added, offering a grin of her own. Perfect.

And then, standing there waiting for him, was his doctor.

"Bones." Heading toward his chair, Jim clapped him on the shoulder affectionately. "Buckle up," he added, then went to sit down at his chair, not looking back to see what Jim was certain was the mother of all eye rolls. Pressing the audio controls, he brought up Engineering. "Scotty, how we doing?"

"Dilithium chambers at maximum, Captain," he heard the Scotsman reply, then- "GET DOWN!" Hopefully not directed at him.

"Mr Sulu, prepare to engage thrusters."

The turbo lift doors slid open and Spock walked in. "Permission to come aboard, Captain."

Jim smiled, surprised, yet... not. "Permission granted," he said, standing to greet his Vulcan friend. Well, maybe not 'friend', not in this universe.

Not yet.

"As you have yet to select a first officer, respectfully I would like to submit my candidacy." Spock stepped closer, approaching him. "Should you desire, I can provide character references."

Though he'd later deny it, Jim swore he could hear Bones snort. "I would be my honor, Commander." Watching Spock take his place at the Science station, Jim returned to his seat, feeling as though the last piece had clicked into place, and now they could go. "Maneuvering thrusters, Mr Sulu."

"Thrusters on standby."

Jim was ready. They all were ready. "Take us out."

"Aye aye, Captain," Sulu answered, and Jim swore felt the ship move slowly, like a ship on the water. He looked over at Bones, who looked back at him with eyes filled with pride and uncertainly. Jim gave him a little wink, the engines fired and they were on their way.


End file.
